61). The juveniles in the La Barriada neighborhood also had an infrastructure which supported crime. The children would steal goods directly from the factories and sell them right on the street to the rest of the neighborhood, take the goods to fences or even sell it to the police. One police officer who was well known in the neighborhood came down to the block not to stop crime but to buy stolen parts for his own car. (Sullivan 128). Hamilton Park, on the other hand, did not have these organizations as deeply entrenched in the neighborhood. Instead, this neighborhood had a stronger infrastructure to deter crime in place. As a result, Hamilton Park had the lowest crime rate of the three neighborhoods studied. The strongest deterrents to crime in the Hamilton Park neighborhood were the job market and the police. Unlike the other neighborhoods in the study, most of the youth in Hamilton Park were able to find decent paying jobs. In addition, Hamilton Park boasted stronger family units, which the study lists as another societal deterrent to crime. Finally, the police in Hamilton Park were more diligent in fighting crime. There was more legitimate concern from the Hamilton Park youths about being caught by the police. Two theories on this topic also exist at the micro level. The first is Social Control Theory, created by Travis Hirschi. Hirschi states that all humans have four main bonds to society: attachment to others; commitment to conventional lines of action, including education, moral reputation, and jobs; involvement in conventional activities; and belief in moral order. According to Hirchi, if these bonds are weak, an individual is more likely to commit crime.Most of the youths in both the Projectville and La Barriada neighborhoods believed that an education was not necessary. these youths [in La Barriada] began to leave school as early as sixth grade, and most never went past the tenth.(Sullivan 33). Like in La Barr...
